Morning Walk

Sally is on her morning walk. She's pacing, puffing; her heart rate high, her body alive. As she passes the homes and their gardens she steals a peek. Even stops to smell a rose at a house with a front yard taken straight out of the botanical gardens. 'Morning!' Sally jumps, startled by the voice…

The Mission

'Once the assignment is complete, you will be escorted to the airport, where you will board a jet that will fly you to an as-yet undisclosed location.' Barry, my handler, is serious. Softly-spoken, measured. I am terrified. This is my first real mission and it involves a large serving of femme fatale. Honestly, I don't…

Parcel

On tenterhooks, I wait for the postie to arrive. It's been weeks since I placed the order and I received a delivery notification this morning, stating that my parcel will arrive today. At various times throughout the day, I realise I'm holding my breath. I relax, let it out in a whoosh and take a…

Surprise Party

There's no way she's going to make this right. This is what Jaymie thought as she surveyed the mess. Strange how, not so long ago, Jaymie and Maggie were planning a run-of-the-mill, surprise twenty-fifth wedding anniversary party for their mum and dad. Jaymie was in charge of contacting the wedding party, which took some doing.…

Visiting Dad

'What's with all the ruckus?' Dad's angry, I can tell. His face is red and if he was a cartoon character, there'd be steam coming out his ears. He pushes back his chair with such force it tips over and leaves me in the kitchen to investigate. My younger brothers are fighting in their room.…